Chapter 2 - The Safehouse in the Hills
Within twenty minutes, Bellini, Rinaldi, and their co-conspirators were disarmed, zip-tied, and dragged out through the private service elevator by Luca’s elite security forces.
The penthouse floor of Moretti Holdings was locked down.
"We can't stay here," Luca said, pulling on a dark cashmere overcoat as he walked toward his private elevator. "Bellini’s men outside know the hit failed. The city streets will be hostile tonight."
He stopped and looked back at Sophia, who was calmly gathering her leather portfolio and her scratched silver watch from the desk.
"You're coming with me," Luca ordered softly. "You saved my life tonight, Sophia. That makes you the ultimate target for anyone left in Bellini's crew."
Ten minutes later, Sophia was sitting in the heavily armored rear seat of an unmarked black SUV, tearing through the rain-swept streets toward the quiet, secluded hills outside the city limits. Luca sat beside her in the dark interior, his broad shoulders practically brushing hers.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Luca asked, breaking the long silence. His dark eyes searched her profile in the passing streetlights. "For three years, you acted like a quiet, timid girl who was afraid of her own shadow."
Sophia looked down at her hands, resting on her lap. "In your world, Mr. Moretti, people who are noticed end up used—or dead. I wanted a quiet, stable job with good health insurance. Being invisible was my armor."
"And tonight?" Luca pressed softly, leaning a fraction closer. "Why shatter your armor tonight?"
Sophia looked up, meeting his intense gray eyes. "Because I couldn't watch them murder you."
A heavy, electric tension filled the space between them. Luca reached out, his long, warm fingers gently catching her chin, tilting her face toward his.
"You are the most remarkable woman I have ever met, Sophia," Luca whispered, his voice rich with an emotion he had hidden for three years. "And you are no longer invisible to anyone."
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The SUV pulled into the gated driveway of a massive, fortress-like stone estate hidden among pine trees. Iron gates closed behind them with a heavy mechanical clank.
This was Luca’s private, undisclosed sanctuary—a place where no syndicate business was ever conducted.
